Dating after Marriage

Remember those days before you got married (or if you aren't married yet remember those days like last week) when you had a date with a new guy/girl and you were so excited and nervous about how it would go. And how elated you were when you walked up to the door to pick her up or waited on the other side of the door waiting for him to knock. I sometimes think back to when Sean and I first started dating and how I would get ready for the date and I just felt the jitters the whole time, anxious for him to get there already so our splendid time together could start. Then those moments, or rather hours, it took to say goodbye at the end of the night because you just couldn't stand the thought of leaving each other. As soon as you close the door wishing it was the next day already so you could be together again. Remember all the time you put into planning and deciding what to do on the date. Dating was thrilling, exciting, scary even,because you didn't know what was or could happen next, it was new. These feelings can still carry on into dating after marriage. Well not the scared part because luckily you are fortunate to already know whats going to happen: You get to spend forever with that person! yay! So one thing that causes difficulty in dating after marriage is you have to make time for it. With all the other things going on its easy to forget to date your spouse. Courtship shouldn't end after you capture your true love. President David O. McKay said "I should like to urge continued courtship, and apply this to grown people. Too many couples have come to the altar of marriage looking upon the marriage ceremony as the end of courtship instead of the beginning of an eternal courtship." But I admit Sean and I occasionally to forget to date. We see each other everyday and spend the night with each other but that doesn't count as a date. Websters Dictionary defines a date as:

a : an appointment to meet at a specified time; especially : a social engagement between two persons that often has a romantic character b : a person with whom one has a usually romantic date

See clearly it takes a bit more thought than just spending time together. A date however does not need to cost a lot of mula $$ in fact a date doesn't need to cost anything. As the song goes "my love don't cost a thing" haha I had to put that. So here is a list of dates that cost $0 to a little bit. Of course if you have the money to spend then feel free to take a helicopter ride, go to a fancy dinner, Broadway play etc. For those of you that are .... well lets say, financially challenged pick one of these lovely dates.

Awesomely Cheap Dates for the Financially Challenged Couple:

• Ping Pong or Pool at a local institute building
• Put a large puzzle together.
• Stay fit together- Go work out, Go on a walk or run
• Do a service project for someone. Help with yard work, clean the house of a new mother (they are super busy and dont have time for such things sometimes)
• Make a delicious dinner at home
• Go to the AZ Science Center on the 1st Friday of every month, its free!
• Play Frisbee
• Take a trip to the library and read love poems to each other (cheesy I know but it sounds so sweet too, you know it does)
• Go to a sporting event (This one could be cheap or expensive, depends on what time of event it is. High School, Church, College, Professional)
• Have a night with each others family
• Play a board game, or two or three! I love board games
• Fly a kite *Disclaimer- Wind is needed for this activity
• Be a kid, Get some crayons and some coloring books and Color!
• Take pictures of anything and everything. Then make a collage of art
• Have a Scavenger hunt. May need more people for this, or not, you decide
• Have a bonfire.
• Find a pool and go swimming
• Baby sit for someone
• Gather up a bunch of magazines, Make a story complete with captions with the pictures
• Watch the Spanish channel and make your own dialogue
• Check out Astronomy books from the library, Find constellations and planets
• Cut out Pictures of houses. Now play cut and paste to create your Dream Home
• Go on a walk down Main Street, stop at each statue and make up a story
• Go to a local school play or performance
• Go to Open Houses and pretend you have money to buy it, just to have a look around
• Get a movie, get a lap top, pack snacks, go to the desert, lay out a blanket (or sit in the back of a truck bed) and watch the movie in the beautiful outdoors
• Look at childhood pictures and tell stories of how you grew up, memories, anything that comes to mind
• Go to garage sales and find treasures
• Go to hobby lobby (or a store similar) get some model cars, put them together
• Have a mini road trip. Drive out to the desert, find a neat restaurant, eat, drive back home
• Go to see a play. Broadway Palms is pretty inexpensive and serves dinner
• Throw your own Prom
• Invite friends to come over dressed up fancy in big dresses, tux or nice suit, and have a fancy pot luck dinner.
• Be a hero and Save lives! Donate blood together, then go replenish yourself with dinner
• As you wish- paint your own pottery store
• Go to a park, play music, finger paint
• On a hot summer day, wash the car together, with the intent of splashing each other with water
• Make a movie. Be creative. Use puppets, paper dolls, really dolls, figurines, what ever you have around the house.
• Watch youtube video's and critique them. 
• Create mad libs, write poems, or a short story
• Take a free tour of a local factory. Available tours range from candy factories to a motorcycle manufacturing plant. To find free tours in your area Click Here
• Have a candlelight picnic in the back yard
• Who said date night can only last one night? Go on a camp out

There you go. You have a huge list to chose from. Now you have no excuses. And if you aren't married these are still wonderful ideas. So go out and have fun. Court your spouse, fall in love again, and again and again. If you aren't married then go out, date, court, and fall in love for the first time. Then when you get married continue to do so.